Find great deals on eBay for the heat blu ray. Shop with confidence. Heat hits Blu-ray hard with a 1080p/VC-1 encoded transfer, and this reviewer couldn't have been more impressed. First and foremost, the richness and depth of the black levels are downright astonishing--as mentioned above, this is a film that's heavy on blacks and grays.
Review Heat is perhaps the ultimate guy flick. Directed by Michael Mann, the film tells the story of two not-so-very-different men.
One, an LAPD homicide detective named Vincent Hanna (Al Pacino), is so consumed by his work that he’s failing his third marriage. Hanna prowls the streets of L.A.
Like a wolf, stalking those who would do wrong, while his personal life falls into ruin. The other, a professional criminal named McCauley (Robert De Niro), is simply doing what he knows best – armed robbery. He also lives a lonely existence, making no personal connections that he couldn’t walk out on at a moment’s notice. McCauley and his crew are after one last score – a bank heist that could land them more than $12 million. As these two hardened pros go about their business, they gradually become aware of one another – predator and prey – and each begins to gain a certain respect for the other. But both also know that they’re on a collision course: In the end, only one will be left standing.
As if the Pacino vs. De Niro match-up weren’t cool enough here, Mann has surrounded these two screen legends with an absolute dream cast of fine supporting players, including Val Kilmer, Jon Voight, Tom Sizemore, Ted Levine, Hank Azaria, Ashley Judd, and Natalie Portman. Each character seems well-rounded and fully-dimensional. The plot itself is based on years of research by Mann into actual criminals and police work, making it both plausible and believable.
And when the action heats up, it’s first rate and entirely justified by the story. 20th Century Fox’s new 1080p/2.39:1 aspect ratio Blu-ray presentation, mastered from a brand new 4K scan and restoration supervised by Mann, improves upon Warner’s 2009 Blu-ray image in virtually every way – and the 2009 presentation was good for its day. Something that’s obvious right off the bat is that the color timing is much improved; the colors are more richly saturated now and more natural too, yet still have that just slightly desaturated look that’s true to this film. The night sky and shadows are more truly black in some scenes now. Overall image detail exhibits greater refinement, crisp yet clean looking even given the occasional optical softness (the film was shot with anamorphic lenses), and the grain texture is more subtle and refined. This is a very film-like image, with not a hint of digital filtering. I’d love to see how an actual 4K Ultra HD release could improve upon this and it’s too bad there isn’t one.
Nevertheless, this is a significant visual upgrade. Whereas the previous Blu-ray offered a 5.1 Dolby TrueHD mix, this new edition has 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio. The new mix retains the smooth and natural staging of the previous mix, which was by turns lively in action and atmospheric otherwise, and adds a bit more heft. The DTS sounds fuller and more engrossing, which gives the staging a bit more depth.
Dialogue is clear and tight. Surround activity is satisfying, with nice room in the mix, and very good LFE reinforcement. The result is a highly immersive audio presentation. It’s not as dynamic as a new genre film 5.1 or 7.1 sound mix, but it’s the perfect mix for this film. A quick note on the film itself: Near as I can tell, this is the same cut that was featured on the Warner Blu-ray release, which was itself only very slightly different than the original theatrical version.
It differs from the theatrical version by two tiny edits, removing a couple quick lines of dialogue to smooth the editing flow. The first edit happens around an hour in and removes a tiny portion of Justine’s speech (the words “You sift through the detritus.” are gone). The second edit happens about 13 minutes later, with the removal of a mumbled word by Hank Azaria and Hanna’s odd “Ferocious, aren’t I?” line. Both bits of dialogue felt awkward in the original cut (Who uses the word ‘detritus’ in daily conversation?) and, frankly, the scenes are better without them. The second edit especially is welcome, as now you simply see the reaction on Azaria’s face, which is far more effective in conveying his emotions.
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Those are the only changes. Let’s put it this way: I’m generally a stickler about keeping alternate versions of my favorite films, but I don’t miss the cut lines here in the slightest. I sincerely doubt most people will even notice the difference. In terms of bonus content, Fox’s new Blu-ray is a 2-disc set. It carries over all of the SD features from the Warner Blu-ray, which were themselves carried over from the earlier DVD edition. Among them are Michael Mann’s excellent audio commentary (now on Disc One with the film), all 11 deleted scenes (9:44 in all), the 3-part The Making of Heat documentary (59:12 – includes True Crime, Crime Stories, and Into the Fire), 2 additional featurettes ( Pacino and De Niro: The Conversation – 9:59 and Return to the Scene of the Crime – 12:05), and 3 theatrical trailers.
Those are all found on Disc Two, which also adds a pair of new bonus features in full HD. They include a 2016 Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Panel (hosted by Christopher Nolan and featuring Michael Mann, Al Pacino, Robert De Niro, Val Kilmer, Amy Brenneman, and several others – 63:23) and a 2015 Toronto International Film Festival Q&A (with Mann – 30:27). I wouldn’t want to spoil the joys of watching either, so suffice it to say that both are fascinating and certainly worthy of your time, particularly the Academy panel. This new material doesn’t represent a lot of content, but it’s appreciated nevertheless.
There’s also a Digital Copy code on a paper insert. I’ve said it before and it bears repeating: Heat is just a great film that I can’t speak of more highly. I wish this new edition was available in 4K Ultra HD, but even so the restoration is impressive and the hour of added bonus content is a nice treat. If you’ve never seen Heat before, this is absolutely the version you want to buy on Blu-ray.
If you’re already a fan and you have the previous edition, my advice is to sell it and upgrade immediately. Fox’s new Blu-ray is currently selling for just $8 on Amazon and it’s certainly worth that. ©1997-2018 The Digital Bits, Inc. All rights reserved. Editor in Chief:. The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used except with the prior written permission of The Digital Bits, Inc.
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One of the most amazing things about Heat is the scale of the film; it is nearly three hours long and packed to bursting with mind-blowing visuals. It seems one of Michael Mann's main priorities was to make a film with a dreamlike feel to it, to portray LA as a dusty oil-painting on which complex characters could play out their lives.
One of the main themes is the similarity of the career criminal and the street-wise cop. It is fascinating to find yourself really feeling for DeNiro's tragic bank-robber, a man of philosophical merit who realises he's stuck in a life of crime he doesn't want to lead.
Pacino's cop is less easy to sympathise with, but he too leads an in-escapable life of guns and crime. What really stands out is the climax. On the whole, Heat has to be the best cops n' robbers film ever made, indeed, one of the best films. An epic, wonderful, sad, adrenaline-fuelled exercise in scale and grandeur. Sound like a bold statement?
Devotees of classic cops and robbers flicks of old will no doubt take exception, but I believe that Michael Mann achieved some measure of perfection with Heat. To break this three-hour gem of a film down to its core, this is a film about men - strong men - and the supporting role that he women of the film have on them for better or worse. Take Pacino as good cop Vincent Hanna: one of the most intense characterizations of the tragic hero that I have ever witnessed, as he laments the demise of his third marriage to a pill-junkie wife.
A fact which he discusses with his archnemesis (De Niro) in what history will regard as one of the most frenetic scenes in the history of film. The dialogue in this scene (at the very end of the first tape, if you own the VHS version) sets up the last half of the film beautifully, as our two rivals come to the joint realization that they have no hand in choosing the paths that will lead them to their ultimate confrontation: their very natures so define their respective actions that any attempt to do otherwise would simply be a waste of time. While I have heard others (who I am ashamed at times to call close friends) say that Heat drags in places, I will concede that there are moments in the film that require more than the cursory attention that they give to the movie they happen to be watching at any given time (I'm sorry not every director is Jerry Bruckheimer), there are poignant developments of character in Heat that many would casually disregard. I am thinking of the interaction between the ex-con who finds conditional employment in a diner with an opportunistic scum of a boss, and whose girlfriend is so proud of him for swallowing his pride and not simply giving the sonofabitch a good pummeling. But there is a catharsis that I felt for that same ex-con when De Niro's character presents him with the opportunity to take just one more score, for old time's sake. Who doesn't feel for this guy - this minor character in a film with big-time heavyweights who gets to shine for a few brief moments.
That's what Heat is really: a series of brief moments, some touching, others traumatic, and still others incredibly horrifying in the feelings that they inspire in the romantic who, like me sees not black or white portrayals of protagonist and villain, but a montage of grays that combine to create a vivid spectrum of film characterization that could not be found in hundreds of films combined. One of my five favorite films of all time, Heat is a cinematic banquet of intense imagery and pulse-pounding action. For some reason I cannot stop thinking about this film lately. You know that feeling of having seen it about 3 or 4 times in the last 12 months is not enough? That's what I feel at the moment.
I rate it as Mann's best. It's his most kinetic,vibrant(for a film mostly shot in steely blue),agonising,stirring,brash,violent and brilliance in such a simple story. What games did you play as a young kid? Cops and robbers.Good guy.Bad guy. We all know De Niro and Pacino could have been either main part,but can you imagine it any other way round. Pacino doing ice cool calm?
De Niro the manic outbursts,arms flailing? It wouldn't work. We know these men now.We know neither will stop at what they do.And yet there is no way either would stop the other.Unless they had too. Which leads us too the characters. This is an extended family where you feel you know all of them without knowing anything at all. The cops are similar to the robbers and vice-versa. Perhaps Mann is telling us were all the same.Except in what we do.Every speaking part holds substance in this movie, and the support cast is astonishing when you actually read the caliber of who appeared in this film.Tom Sizmore, Val Kilmer,Ashley Judd,Ted Levine,Wes Studi,Hank Azaria,William Fitchner,Henry Rollins,Dennis Haysbert,Tom Noonan.
And Natalie Portman, for chrissake! Try getting that cast again. A real 10/10 film. And that Moby song at the end(God moving over the face of waters) gets me every time.
In this exciting thrill ride, good and evil battle it out. But not in the usual comic-book style of most films today. 'Heat' carries with it the moral values so many of us take for granted.
Although much in the film is morally ambiguous, one may find that even when all your life you've lived on the other side of the law, you can still settle down and have a heart-to-heart. When I first saw this movie I was sure it would be another violent crime movie that I would never want to see again.
I have since seen it 4 times and have a copy of my own. The thrilling sequences and brilliant camera-work have you glued to the screen. The exceptional cast of characters has you wondering 'who could be so lucky to work with them?' From the opening scene to the thrilling final scenes and everything in between (including the climax) 'Heat' grabs you and pulls you in. This is a true film masterpiece. 'Heat,' a film of epic proportions on a common placed scale, provides all the essentials of a great crime drama and then some. With a fascinating storyline, involving characters, and Mann's sometimes poetic, sometimes gritty directing, 'Heat' is arguably one of the best crime dramas.
Perhaps the most unique feature of this movie is its manifold storyline, which focuses primarily on the main characters: Vincent Hanna and Neil McCauley. Because of this complex storyline, it almost seems as if one is watching two movies, with one about each of the two characters. While following Hanna's personal life, the movie shows how it is about more than just a cop in pursuit of a criminal.
Hanna's marriage is deteriorating, his step daughter is falling apart, and, as wife Justine says, he lives his life more among the 'remnants of dead people.' A man of two other failed marriages, Hanna's story is that of the strain of trying to fulfill both his professional and personal, where, every time, the professional wins out. Neil McCauley's story is that of a man who used to know his role: his job. Everything in his life revolved around making the next score (whether it be large or small).
His story chronicles his relationships with the other men in his crew, and his relationship with Eady, his girlfriend who does not know all she should about him. The tensions build as Mann shows the two opposing strategies of each man as their paths (and thus their stories) draw closer together. When the two storylines do meet (at different points in the movie), the result is-for lack of a better word-epic. To say that these two major storylines are the only strong ones of the movie would do injustice to the many others (following Chris and his wife, for example); but to say that they are the driving force of the movie, to say that they are responsible for transforming a typical cops-and-robbers story is the best explanation.
In addition, the characters in this movie undoubtedly make it so successful. This cast comes as close as possible to being ensemble with two such huge main characters. And the cast is one of the best, at that.
Little more needs to be said. Ever the master, his character, McCauley, can be on the one hand a ruthless robber and cold-hearted killer, on the other a warm friend and tender lover. And, despite his life of crime, McCauley's human side shows through. He will not kill unless he must, as seen through his anger at Waingro and bank heist. His warmer side shows through his relationships with his friends and girlfriend Eady.
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Equally without need of praise. As always, he delivers an intense performance, here as Hanna, a workaholic obsessed with catching his man, while also fighting a losing battle to save his personal relationships. He may seem just the harsh cop, but he cares about every man under his command, about his stepdaughter, and, yes, even about McCauley. Through Hanna, Pacino shows just how torn such a man can be. Hanna demonstrates both coldness and compassion, both anger and sensitivity. Additionally strong is Val Kilmer, as Chris Shiherlis; with a raging temper, undying devotion, and a fierce will to persevere.
Kilmer does an excellent job with the character of a flawed individual, whose flaws prevent him from lasting contentment, but against which flaws he continually strives. Ashley Judd is an unforgettable Charlene Shiherlis, who, despite a smaller roll, makes a lasting impression on the film. Tom Sizemore, as the implacable Michael Cheritto, and Jon Voight, as a gruff Nate, are both likeable (because of their human sides) and despicable (because of their professions). Each does excellent work.
And equally fine are Diane Venora, as Justine, and Natalie Portman, as Justine's daughter Lauren. As Venora is strong opposite Pacino, so Amy Brenneman, Eady, is an equally strong opposite of DeNiro.
In a cast so full of big names, it is so rewarding to see everyone come together to make the characters each have their own place in the film. And Michael Mann's direction of the movie keeps the film moving while providing a tremendous combination of action and drama. He moves from scene to scene quickly and effortlessly. He also switches between the many storylines logically and fluidly, none of the story being lost.
Each scene leaves its own, unmistakable impression, and each scene of each storyline builds upon the previous. Action scenes are handles crisply but grittily. The gunshots are loud, the blood is abundant, but Mann wisely does not linger on the horror of the moment. He paints a realistic picture, but keeps to the topic. The action never becomes more important than the drama. Mann is also responsible for what is perhaps the greatest robbery scene ever.
Here, his more gritty sense of style is what makes this scene so believable. And, despite the enormous cast, Mann was still able to keep his agenda clear, and orchestrate so much talent into a coherent movie. Michael Mann deserves credit for both his vision and ability to express it. Because of these and other well done aspects, 'Heat' is one of the most powerful crime dramas ever made.